Marco van Basten preferred to blame a lack of fitness rather than his team formation for Holland's shortcomings in their 1-0 win against Cameroon. "We need to get fitter," insisted the Dutch coach. "I will be concentrating on physical conditioning in training as much as possible between now and the start of the World Cup because I thought that while our game plan worked very well in the first half, when we were very good at times, we looked a bit tired in the second half."

Certainly he was pleased with how Holland's high defensive line had pressed Cameroon into midfield submission, particularly for prolonged periods in the first 45 minutes. "We chased and closed Cameroon down very well before we got tired. We put them under a lot of pressure and did not allow them to play their natural game - they had little room in midfield or down the sides.

"It will be important to put teams under similar pressure and stopping them playing their game in the World Cup and, although our players played as individuals too much - particularly during the second half - there were a lot of very positive things about our system.

"It is good for us because it is easy to fit different players into," added the coach, who did not risk the influential Rafael van der Vaart, who has only recently recovered from an ankle operation and is regarded as a potentially key figure in Germany.

"For example Robin van Persie played very well operating mainly wide on the right" - the Arsenal player delivered most of Holland's dead balls - "but Dirk Kuyt, whom I brought on to play through the middle, could also work well on the right. It is a system my players know how to play, which is important if you need, or want, to make changes."